On Water: Anyone who knows anything about fitness and weight loss says you need to drink X amount of water per day (6-8 eight ounce glasses is pretty much the standard). My question is this... should it all be water water? Can it be something like water with Crystal Light mixed in? What about sparkling water? Does tea count? At one point in my Weight Watchers endeavors, I seem to remember a meeting leader talking about this, and I remember that there was a list of things that could substitute as water, as long as you were still drinking some actual water, but I don't remember what qualified and how much was acceptable. Anyone have any ideas?

On Shoes: I'm looking for suggestions on new sneakers/exercise shoes. My workout routine includes (right now) the stationary bike, the elliptical machine, and a mile and a half of walking to and from the gym. The shoes that I have right now, while rubber-soled and sneaker-like, aren't actually athletic shoes and they don't offer me any sort of foot/ankle support. I keep finding my ankles/calves are killing me by the end of the walk back from the gym, and I'm pretty damn sure it's because of my shoes. Since my aunt has asked me what I want for Christmas, I think that I'm going to ask Santa to bring me some sneakers. So, tell me what you like and dislike about shoes you've used for workouts and what you look for in a perfect pair of sneakers.

I'm just about to go do my situps/squats routine, but I've been bad today with eating. I'm guessing Whataburger isn't on the list of 'healthy foods', right? ;D But I've done well this whole week for lunch and dinner - lots of water, which is something I usually miss out on. I'm trying to hydrate myself a lot more, especially since I eat a lot of salty foods.